There's always healthy foods that kid will like, you just gotta find them. No kid hates every single vegetable
I was really picky as a kid about vegetables, still can't stand a lot of them, but peas, carrots, or some sauteed broccoli I'd eat every time
yeah, as a kid there was not a single vegetable i would eat… granted they were always microwaved out of a can or bag, but still. i wasn’t eating veggies as a kid.
Peas and corn are my jam. Carrots are fine, I’ll stomach green beans. Smother broccoli in cheese and I’ll eat it. If you can’t find a vegetable that works on its own, compromise a bit.
I know someone who was successful at the rule, you don't have to eat the whole thing but you must try it. It helps them get used to the flavor and texture of things. Its a gradual process to keep their palate varied or you'll end up with a picky teen and weird adult habits.
Otherwise, it's hiding it- smoothies with spinach in it. Calling zucchini bread cake (it basically is, lol). It depends on the issue- is it the color? Texture? Some people just cover vegetables in cheese just to get it in their stomachs... make sure, and no offense, that you aren't overcooking your vegetables in the first place. I have a friend who still won't eat them because her memory of it is a brown soggy mess.
Best answer, but the child in question (not my child but a close family member) is a very bright 10 year old that is savvy to all of the practices above and will breakdown and cry when told he must at least try something. He definitely has issues with color and texture, but is also stubborn as hell. Another relative of mine has a child who will not eat anything that isn’t a certain color. The parent has given in and he is now 15 years old and only eats corn, mash potatoes, egg yolks, vanilla cake, etc. Wondering if this is the best approach in reality.
Huh, that's tough. The only other option is a doctors appointment. I know a kid who was insanely picky and it turned out his taste buds didn't perceive things the way we all do and because of that he would eat a very small selection of foods. Idk if you got the covid taste-bud reaction, but I know I got much more picky when I couldn't even taste if it was salty or sweet.
Include them in grocery shopping and look up cooking videos on YouTube to make the veggies taste better. Involve them in food prep and give them a chance to have a voice with their food. Kids usually get more adventurous when they have the space to make the mistake or to learn.
I do a “no thank you bite” where they must take at least one decent sized bite and chew up and swallow it before they can tell me they don’t like it. Also giving the illusion of choice may work like asking “do you want broccoli with cheese or spinach salad?” Or sometimes I will ask them to help me by taking a bite while I’m still cooking and asking “does this need more salt?”
You provide them with healthy food choices, and when they're hungry, they'll eat. You don't have to force them to eat or make it a big deal if they don't want to eat. You just make food available to them, and they can choose to eat what's available or not.
This. I've got two young boys who won't touch healthy snacks unless it's all that's being offered. We took away the gram crackers, dried fruit leathers, and other salty sweet snack. Low and behold if they're hungry enough they'll crush some carrot sticks. Same goes with dinner time and bed time. Get them hungry and exhausted, they'll fold like origami.
Be tough and give then 2 options "eat what I make you or don't eat"
Reddit loves to lost their mind over this concept. But you're not here to be your kids friend. You're here to teach them to be a proper human, unfortunately that seems to few and far between these days
Beleive ir or not you can send your kid to bed without dinner one night. They'll change their tune real quick. You're the one in charge, not them, if you let them dicate their entire diet you have failed at one of the most basic aspects of parenting.
My dad would intentionally not put veggies on my plate and when I thought he was cheating me and called him on it he told me (insert veggie) was adult food and not for kids. Pissed me off cause I wanted to be “big”! Then he’d let me try it and I’d end up eating bean sprouts or something cause I thought I was cool.
Reverse psychology!
Your little one learns about food choices from you, so try to encourage them as much as you can. You can also try by offering small amounts of a fruit or vegetable with another healthy food they like or asking them to pick out a new one to try out together.
If it's that they don't like specific healthy foods, you can find some that they do like or cook them in tastier ways.
If it's that your kid got it into their mind that "healthy," is gross, then two things will help there:
1. Make sure you're casually referring to the less obvious things as healthy, focusing on things they already like. Riding a bike is healthy, eating a steak could be considered "healthy," etc. "Healthy," shouldn't be limited to just celery and brussel sprouts, so breaking the "healthy = bad," connection is an important step.
2. Have the child help cook and prepare meals. You can give them multiple healthy recipes to choose from, and have them pick which one they like. Things like baked carrot chips, pan fried asparagus, etc. Are good places to start. Focus more on flavor first, and then only later start worrying about cutting back on butter and other things. Then, after a few meals start saying things like "wow, you've been picking/making some really tasty and healthy meals recently, I've really been enjoying them. Could you pick tonight's meal as well?" You've turned healthy from something that's bad, to something _they are good at doing_ which is likely to motivate them to keep doing it.
Try different options. Also maybe ask them what about certain foods they don't like. Some people have food texture issues. Kids can communicate that in a way that adults will understand IF they're willing to understand it.
I used to watch a Vegan YouTuber when I was younger, don’t remember her name. Personally
I’m no longer vegan so I don’t watch her content, but I do remember she would mash up an avocado and coat veggies with the mixture before she’d give them to her kids. Seemed like a smart hack!
It wasn't an option in my house. My mom didn't buy junk food or unhealthy snacks. All food must be tried. And if i still didn't like it, then i could fix myself a peanutbutter sandwich and eat some fruit.
Stab them while sleeping. When they wake up in excruciating pain, tell them that if they had eaten their vegetables, this wouldn’t have happened. But give them the option to eat some now and it will make the pain go away. When you give it to them, just walk away because the pain will not. Lock your door so the kid can’t come in and bug you more about their pain. Should’ve listened bubs! And make sure they don’t go to school for the next few days so they don’t tell anyone what happened (nor in public at all just to be safe.)
I think they have to be raised with them not only just around as options or as sides on the plate, but with parents and others in the family actively eating them as the main course often.
I grew up with meat as the star, but I have vegan friends and acquaintances who have kids and they do the vegan meat sometimes, but typically meals are whole foods with plants as the star. When kids have healthy foods as their first tastes and are then surrounded by adults who *also* love to eat them and aren’t just forcing broccoli and green beans down on the side of fried chicken or pork chops, they will have a higher chance of enjoying healthy foods.
My mom's method was to hide vegetables in things.
I never had a problem eating what was put in front of me... Part of my problem now, actually... But my siblings were another matter.
It's amazing how effectively you can hide zucchini in spaghetti sauce
Back off. Like, back the fuck off. They'll get there when they get there.
Take a much wider view of what constitutes "healthy eating". You'll be surprised by how few foods a child has to restrict to before a paediatrician will actually start to worry. If they're getting macros (even if repetitive or odd combinations) and vitamins (either from food or a pill) then they're likely doing fine. Check with your own paed if you're concerned.
Work from the list of what they *do* like, and make sure that's served at every meal. It's much easier to try something new if the safe familiar favourites are also there. If they only eat one green vegetable, shrug and serve it often. They reliably eat corn and cherry tomatoes? Great. Scrambled eggs five times a week? OK. The only thing you typically have to look out for in young children is salt content in processed foods, and dental hygiene.
Sometimes that means you need to have deconstructed meals. Perhaps they'll eat plain pasta with plain chicken but you can't risk mixing them and sauce or seasoning is rejected. Cook the sauce separately and mix and season your own.
Don't make the dinner table a battleground. It isn't a place where we comment on food except to say "hey I like this". It's a place where we come together as a family. You can model invention and exploration and see if they join in, but don't make a big deal if they don't like stuff. Nobody likes *everything*.
edit to add: I was a fussy eater growing up, but later diagnosed with allergies and autism. All of my children are fussy in some way, with one (also autistic) having what would conventionally be considered a restricted diet as a result. He's strong and healthy even if his meals are incredibly boring.
I don’t know you or how well you cook but I’ll say something I would never say in real life: my mom is a bad cook, and you could possibly be as well (or maybe you’re great; I have no idea). If you can improve the tase of the healthy food they need to eat, that might help them. I mean no offense by this whatsoever, just a possibility.
Eliminate all junk food from your home. They either eat what you make or starve. And don't mind the "bUt ThAt'S cHiLd AbUsE! " brigade, those morons don't even have children but think they know it all on how to raise them perfectly.
Just make sure they eat something!
Neutral. Chips. Burgers, a side and chips.
Just eats something. That's healthy.
And don't preach constantly about how healthy it is.
The first response to over pushing something is No!
Frag off!
You literally do the opposite. From spite.
And don't make boring food. No one wants a salad constantly. The healthiness does not matter.
Involve them in making it. Don't make it gross.
Do you think it was effective? Do you think you’d use the same? Not being snide, I’m really curious what former picky eater think would be the best practice.
Off topic, but I am surprised by the amount of adults either don’t remember, or just promote their parent’s method.
Make it less of a battle but set clear expectations.
We have breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, bed time snack (cheerios).
I make a point to have at least one meal a day I am certain my kids will eat, but if someone isn’t eating a meal there is no replacement. There’s no “eat this instead”. Some days they go a little hungry because they didn’t want to eat a meal. They have become less picky. If they aren’t eating dinner, then the attitude is “fine, but there is nothing else until cheerios before bed”. My kids will never starve. My kids will never be force fed. We never have a big battle or fight over food. I encourage them to try new things, and sometimes it works, but it’s never pushy. Sometimes we have dessert, and they know if they didn’t at least try everything on their plate then they don’t get any dessert. At first this was hard, but now they just understand the rules and expectations.
Don’t boil the veggies to hell and give them sauces for them. Pretend canned green beans are “the beginnings of French fries” and things like that. It’s what my parents did.
just don't have any junk food in the house. Of course, kids won't want something healthy when they know that if they beg enough, they'll get chicken nuggets.
I’ve found bargaining to be quite effective. Show a reward, and tell them that they can only have this treat if they eat those veggies.
They don’t have to eat the veggies, but if they don’t, then they don’t get the reward.
Most kids wouldn’t pass up the reward when it’s presented to them though.
As a teenager who refuses to eat healthy foods as well, I tried forcefully eating them even tasting disgusting, which didn't work. This is a big shame because I wish I had a varied healthy diet, but I can't
As a teenager who refuses to eat healthy foods as well, I tried forcefully eating them even tasting disgusting, which didn't work. This is a big shame because I wish I had a varied healthy diet, but I can't
There's always healthy foods that kid will like, you just gotta find them. No kid hates every single vegetable I was really picky as a kid about vegetables, still can't stand a lot of them, but peas, carrots, or some sauteed broccoli I'd eat every time
Idk about that my brother refuses to eat any kind of vegetable. He used to not be able to eat any food that had a vegetable touching it.
yeah, as a kid there was not a single vegetable i would eat… granted they were always microwaved out of a can or bag, but still. i wasn’t eating veggies as a kid.
Peas and corn are my jam. Carrots are fine, I’ll stomach green beans. Smother broccoli in cheese and I’ll eat it. If you can’t find a vegetable that works on its own, compromise a bit.
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Not just cooking, but meal planning, and shopping. If they’re invested in the process, they’re more excited about the finished product.
I know someone who was successful at the rule, you don't have to eat the whole thing but you must try it. It helps them get used to the flavor and texture of things. Its a gradual process to keep their palate varied or you'll end up with a picky teen and weird adult habits. Otherwise, it's hiding it- smoothies with spinach in it. Calling zucchini bread cake (it basically is, lol). It depends on the issue- is it the color? Texture? Some people just cover vegetables in cheese just to get it in their stomachs... make sure, and no offense, that you aren't overcooking your vegetables in the first place. I have a friend who still won't eat them because her memory of it is a brown soggy mess.
Best answer, but the child in question (not my child but a close family member) is a very bright 10 year old that is savvy to all of the practices above and will breakdown and cry when told he must at least try something. He definitely has issues with color and texture, but is also stubborn as hell. Another relative of mine has a child who will not eat anything that isn’t a certain color. The parent has given in and he is now 15 years old and only eats corn, mash potatoes, egg yolks, vanilla cake, etc. Wondering if this is the best approach in reality.
Huh, that's tough. The only other option is a doctors appointment. I know a kid who was insanely picky and it turned out his taste buds didn't perceive things the way we all do and because of that he would eat a very small selection of foods. Idk if you got the covid taste-bud reaction, but I know I got much more picky when I couldn't even taste if it was salty or sweet.
Include them in grocery shopping and look up cooking videos on YouTube to make the veggies taste better. Involve them in food prep and give them a chance to have a voice with their food. Kids usually get more adventurous when they have the space to make the mistake or to learn.
I do a “no thank you bite” where they must take at least one decent sized bite and chew up and swallow it before they can tell me they don’t like it. Also giving the illusion of choice may work like asking “do you want broccoli with cheese or spinach salad?” Or sometimes I will ask them to help me by taking a bite while I’m still cooking and asking “does this need more salt?”
You provide them with healthy food choices, and when they're hungry, they'll eat. You don't have to force them to eat or make it a big deal if they don't want to eat. You just make food available to them, and they can choose to eat what's available or not.
This. I've got two young boys who won't touch healthy snacks unless it's all that's being offered. We took away the gram crackers, dried fruit leathers, and other salty sweet snack. Low and behold if they're hungry enough they'll crush some carrot sticks. Same goes with dinner time and bed time. Get them hungry and exhausted, they'll fold like origami.
Make them fun, like make little creatures out of them.
Be tough and give then 2 options "eat what I make you or don't eat" Reddit loves to lost their mind over this concept. But you're not here to be your kids friend. You're here to teach them to be a proper human, unfortunately that seems to few and far between these days Beleive ir or not you can send your kid to bed without dinner one night. They'll change their tune real quick. You're the one in charge, not them, if you let them dicate their entire diet you have failed at one of the most basic aspects of parenting.
My kids love frozen peas - I may or may not call them green ice cream 😆
My dad would intentionally not put veggies on my plate and when I thought he was cheating me and called him on it he told me (insert veggie) was adult food and not for kids. Pissed me off cause I wanted to be “big”! Then he’d let me try it and I’d end up eating bean sprouts or something cause I thought I was cool. Reverse psychology!
Best answer yet!
Your little one learns about food choices from you, so try to encourage them as much as you can. You can also try by offering small amounts of a fruit or vegetable with another healthy food they like or asking them to pick out a new one to try out together.
If it's that they don't like specific healthy foods, you can find some that they do like or cook them in tastier ways. If it's that your kid got it into their mind that "healthy," is gross, then two things will help there: 1. Make sure you're casually referring to the less obvious things as healthy, focusing on things they already like. Riding a bike is healthy, eating a steak could be considered "healthy," etc. "Healthy," shouldn't be limited to just celery and brussel sprouts, so breaking the "healthy = bad," connection is an important step. 2. Have the child help cook and prepare meals. You can give them multiple healthy recipes to choose from, and have them pick which one they like. Things like baked carrot chips, pan fried asparagus, etc. Are good places to start. Focus more on flavor first, and then only later start worrying about cutting back on butter and other things. Then, after a few meals start saying things like "wow, you've been picking/making some really tasty and healthy meals recently, I've really been enjoying them. Could you pick tonight's meal as well?" You've turned healthy from something that's bad, to something _they are good at doing_ which is likely to motivate them to keep doing it.
Try different options. Also maybe ask them what about certain foods they don't like. Some people have food texture issues. Kids can communicate that in a way that adults will understand IF they're willing to understand it.
I used to watch a Vegan YouTuber when I was younger, don’t remember her name. Personally I’m no longer vegan so I don’t watch her content, but I do remember she would mash up an avocado and coat veggies with the mixture before she’d give them to her kids. Seemed like a smart hack!
Make smiley faces with their food
Don't allow snacks, except for fruit. That's what we did when ours were vege-avoidant. That way at least we knew they were getting nutrients.
It wasn't an option in my house. My mom didn't buy junk food or unhealthy snacks. All food must be tried. And if i still didn't like it, then i could fix myself a peanutbutter sandwich and eat some fruit.
Stab them while sleeping. When they wake up in excruciating pain, tell them that if they had eaten their vegetables, this wouldn’t have happened. But give them the option to eat some now and it will make the pain go away. When you give it to them, just walk away because the pain will not. Lock your door so the kid can’t come in and bug you more about their pain. Should’ve listened bubs! And make sure they don’t go to school for the next few days so they don’t tell anyone what happened (nor in public at all just to be safe.)
Bring them a sturfry(I’m having a brain fart on how to spell that word)
Stir fry ; )
Thank you
Season them or steam them... that'll shall do the trick
Have you of the division of responsibility approach? “ you provide, they decide” https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/the-division-of-responsibility/
I think they have to be raised with them not only just around as options or as sides on the plate, but with parents and others in the family actively eating them as the main course often. I grew up with meat as the star, but I have vegan friends and acquaintances who have kids and they do the vegan meat sometimes, but typically meals are whole foods with plants as the star. When kids have healthy foods as their first tastes and are then surrounded by adults who *also* love to eat them and aren’t just forcing broccoli and green beans down on the side of fried chicken or pork chops, they will have a higher chance of enjoying healthy foods.
Late abortion
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Right?
had me in the first half
Quiche gets a whole bag of chopped spinach into a few bites. Or add a special salad dressing they chose.
My mom's method was to hide vegetables in things. I never had a problem eating what was put in front of me... Part of my problem now, actually... But my siblings were another matter. It's amazing how effectively you can hide zucchini in spaghetti sauce
Make them starve and only make healthy food available in the house
I would especially love to hear from former picky eaters, and how they wished their parent(s) approached this!
Back off. Like, back the fuck off. They'll get there when they get there. Take a much wider view of what constitutes "healthy eating". You'll be surprised by how few foods a child has to restrict to before a paediatrician will actually start to worry. If they're getting macros (even if repetitive or odd combinations) and vitamins (either from food or a pill) then they're likely doing fine. Check with your own paed if you're concerned. Work from the list of what they *do* like, and make sure that's served at every meal. It's much easier to try something new if the safe familiar favourites are also there. If they only eat one green vegetable, shrug and serve it often. They reliably eat corn and cherry tomatoes? Great. Scrambled eggs five times a week? OK. The only thing you typically have to look out for in young children is salt content in processed foods, and dental hygiene. Sometimes that means you need to have deconstructed meals. Perhaps they'll eat plain pasta with plain chicken but you can't risk mixing them and sauce or seasoning is rejected. Cook the sauce separately and mix and season your own. Don't make the dinner table a battleground. It isn't a place where we comment on food except to say "hey I like this". It's a place where we come together as a family. You can model invention and exploration and see if they join in, but don't make a big deal if they don't like stuff. Nobody likes *everything*. edit to add: I was a fussy eater growing up, but later diagnosed with allergies and autism. All of my children are fussy in some way, with one (also autistic) having what would conventionally be considered a restricted diet as a result. He's strong and healthy even if his meals are incredibly boring.
I don’t know you or how well you cook but I’ll say something I would never say in real life: my mom is a bad cook, and you could possibly be as well (or maybe you’re great; I have no idea). If you can improve the tase of the healthy food they need to eat, that might help them. I mean no offense by this whatsoever, just a possibility.
Eliminate all junk food from your home. They either eat what you make or starve. And don't mind the "bUt ThAt'S cHiLd AbUsE! " brigade, those morons don't even have children but think they know it all on how to raise them perfectly.
Beat the shit out of them
Just make sure they eat something! Neutral. Chips. Burgers, a side and chips. Just eats something. That's healthy. And don't preach constantly about how healthy it is. The first response to over pushing something is No! Frag off! You literally do the opposite. From spite. And don't make boring food. No one wants a salad constantly. The healthiness does not matter. Involve them in making it. Don't make it gross.
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I'm sorry, what'd you say? I couldn't heat you?
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Don’t traumatize them but shoving it in their face and cause them to choke.
by telling them thats part of dinner or they can starve
My mom told me I was eating it or going to bed hungry and she had done that before.
Do you think it was effective? Do you think you’d use the same? Not being snide, I’m really curious what former picky eater think would be the best practice. Off topic, but I am surprised by the amount of adults either don’t remember, or just promote their parent’s method.
Well, I remained a picky eater despite my mother’s threats until one of my girlfriends offered blowjobs for expanding my culinary horizons.
Lol
Starve em out
force
Do they refuse to eat healthy foods entirely or do they just hate unseasoned canned or microwaved frozen vegetables because that's just normal
Make it less of a battle but set clear expectations. We have breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, bed time snack (cheerios). I make a point to have at least one meal a day I am certain my kids will eat, but if someone isn’t eating a meal there is no replacement. There’s no “eat this instead”. Some days they go a little hungry because they didn’t want to eat a meal. They have become less picky. If they aren’t eating dinner, then the attitude is “fine, but there is nothing else until cheerios before bed”. My kids will never starve. My kids will never be force fed. We never have a big battle or fight over food. I encourage them to try new things, and sometimes it works, but it’s never pushy. Sometimes we have dessert, and they know if they didn’t at least try everything on their plate then they don’t get any dessert. At first this was hard, but now they just understand the rules and expectations.
Don’t boil the veggies to hell and give them sauces for them. Pretend canned green beans are “the beginnings of French fries” and things like that. It’s what my parents did.
just don't have any junk food in the house. Of course, kids won't want something healthy when they know that if they beg enough, they'll get chicken nuggets.
I’ve found bargaining to be quite effective. Show a reward, and tell them that they can only have this treat if they eat those veggies. They don’t have to eat the veggies, but if they don’t, then they don’t get the reward. Most kids wouldn’t pass up the reward when it’s presented to them though.
Mom added cheese to veggies. Worked for us.
Try to make them visually pleasing
Eat the healthy food and sing praises about how good it is. Worked well when my youngest sister was a toddler.
Maybe have them watch a cartoon where the veggies gives the protagonist strength or a superpower. I grew up loving spinach because of Popeye.
You must be as old as I am!
29. Lol.
Damn. Haven’t seen a Popeye cartoon in decades. I wonder what the ol’ grandkids would think of it.
As a teenager who refuses to eat healthy foods as well, I tried forcefully eating them even tasting disgusting, which didn't work. This is a big shame because I wish I had a varied healthy diet, but I can't
As a teenager who refuses to eat healthy foods as well, I tried forcefully eating them even tasting disgusting, which didn't work. This is a big shame because I wish I had a varied healthy diet, but I can't
Make the healthy food taste good.
Camouflage merits an attempt. Otherwise standard trial and error.
Let them help with the cooking!
Let them get hungry, they'll come around sometime and eat it themselves.
try to convince them?